


Win - Win Situation

by falsteloj



Category: Young Dracula
Genre: Angst, Character Turned Into Vampire, Dysfunctional Relationships, M/M, Unrequited Love, Vampire Turning, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-23
Updated: 2011-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-27 23:00:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/300992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falsteloj/pseuds/falsteloj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin thinks he has it all worked out.</p><p>(I have a ton more YD stuff - you can find story summaries, etc, by clicking <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/512861/chapters/27201609">HERE</a>.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Win - Win Situation

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a trip to watch 'New Moon'. Somehow I doubt Stephanie Meyer would approve.

"Aw, no," Robin shook his head. "No way."  
  
"But," Vlad shot him his cheesiest grin, "It's got vampires."  
  
"Still no." Robin took the DVD case from Vlad and grimaced as he read the blurb. "Why do you even own this?"  
  
"I've got all the books too."  
  
That figured. Robin could see that they were going to have to watch the film, no matter how much he complained about it. Vlad smiled wistfully as he took the case back, mouthing the words of the blurb to himself as he switched the television on.  
  
Robin sighed and sank down on to Vlad's bed. There was nothing like guilt tripping to help someone get their own way.  
  
Of course, Vlad didn't actually  _know_  he was putting him on a guilt trip. Vlad didn't know that his feelings had been written across his face in large print for years. Some days it was all he could do to pretend not to notice the constant longing glances, the highly orchestrated way in which Vlad would find some excuse to sit closer to him.  
  
Vlad sat down next to him then, their sides lightly touching and Robin looked away. Sometimes he wondered if it wouldn't just be kinder if he said, outright, 'Vlad, I don't fancy you and I'm never going to'. Somehow it never seemed to be the right moment.  
  
"I thought he was supposed to sparkle?" Robin said, dragging his attention back to the terrible film Vlad had chosen for the evening.  
  
"Only in bright light," Vlad replied distractedly, then turned to him, smiling sheepishly. "I know it's a bit lame, but don't you think it's kind of romantic?"  
  
Robin looked at the screen and snorted. "Not really." He gestured at it, "I thought you were against all that anyway, biting people."  
  
"He doesn't bite her."  
  
"But she does get to be a vampire?" Robin leaned back against Vlad's pillows watching the screen in distaste. Still, to be a vampire, he'd snog the git as well.  
  
"But only because she's going to die."  
  
Maybe that was the answer Robin thought, grinning to himself and reaching for Vlad's stash of illicit sweets. Pretend he was dying and Vlad would whip out the fangs and get busy.  
  
"Well, I think it's nice," Vlad said, stuffing his face, "and," he gave Robin a pointed look, "she turns the werewolf down. How could I not like it?"  
  
Robin just grinned, shook his head in amusement, and settled in for the duration.

* * *

 He was writing up how terrible the film was in his diary – even Chloe wouldn't stoop so low as to sit through it! – when his earlier idea came back with a vengeance. Not the pretending to be at death's door one. Vlad wasn't an idiot. He would have to literally be at death's door, a prospect which was even less appealing than Vlad's offer to lend him 'all the books'.  
  
No, the one about snogging Cullen in exchange for eternal life. He might not have the guy on hand but that didn't matter. He had his very own depressive blood-sucker to work with. The nib of the pen rested against the page as he hesitated, the idea forming fully in his mind even as his conscience told him he should stop it.  
  
Vlad fancied him, he knew. He had amassed enough Valentine's cards written in Vlad's elaborate script and been the subject of enough lovesick looks to be beyond certain. It was possible, he speculated, that Vlad even loved him. It had been him he'd asked for first on emerging from the blood mirror room after all.  
  
He wondered what that must be like; to love someone and know they were never going to love you back. Because Vlad had to know that. It was no wonder Vlad made even the most maudlin of vampires look cheery.  
  
But if he did this, he swallowed, feeling guilty just for thinking it, then Vlad would get what he'd always wanted. They both would.  
  
It was a win-win situation.

* * *

 Later he thought that he would never have actually gone through with it. Would never have started something that could only end in heartbreak for his best friend. At least he wouldn't have had Vlad not forced his hand.  
  
They were sat in Vlad's stuffy little office, Vlad supposedly working on his Council reports. Robin could tell, from the frequency with which he caught Vlad watching him, that he was doing no such thing. He shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny – he had always thought it would be awesome to have somebody spend every spare moment staring at him in adoration. Perhaps it would be if it wasn't Vlad.  
  
"Robin?" Vlad ventured finally, biting at his lower lip anxiously. "Can we talk?"  
  
"There's no law against it, is there?" He grinned, hoping Vlad wasn't going to bring up the subject he had a terrible feeling he was about to.  
  
"No," Vlad said quietly, pale face strained as he put down his notes carefully, then turned to face him. Robin wished he had thought to wait until Vlad was finished, rather than be forced to sit so close to him. Vlad reached for his hand and he let him take it, unresisting as cool fingers entwined with his own.  
  
"I- " Vlad stuttered, obviously finding it difficult to look him in the eye, "I have to tell you this. I love you." The silence was deafening around them and Vlad started babbling, expression panicked. "I just – I thought that maybe – of course you wouldn't – I'm so sorry - "  
  
Vlad looked away, making to extract his fingers when, acting more on instinct than with reason, Robin tightened his grip. Vlad glanced back at him, the tenuous flicker of hope on his face almost enough to make him wish he really could return Vlad's feelings.  
  
"Robin?" Vlad whispered, tone uncertain.  
  
In that instant he made the decision. It wasn't a bad thing to do, he reasoned hastily, rubbing his thumb across the icy skin of Vlad's hand and watching the way the other boy's eyes went wide in shock. This was what Vlad wanted.  
  
"I, lately," he kept his gaze on Vlad's hand, afraid he would be able to tell he was lying, "I can't stop thinking about you." He thought back to the sort of thing his Mam had used to insist they watch on television, the soppy period dramas and overwrought romances. Vlad was a sucker for anything in the slightest bit sappy. "I'm scared though, Vlad." He risked a quick glance up at him, before returning his gaze to their conjoined hands. "I've never felt like this about another bloke before. I don't know what to do."  
  
"Oh, Robin," Vlad breathed, his free hand coming up to touch his cheek, gently encouraging Robin to look at him. He did so reluctantly. Vlad looked happier than he had ever seen him and his gut crawled with guilt. "I'd never rush you, never."  
  
Vlad stroked his unnaturally cold thumb against his cheek, smiling adoringly at him. "I can wait." Robin debated whether or not to call it off. He should do it now, before it went any further. Then Vlad was leaning in, pressing the briefest of kisses to his cheek. "I'd wait forever for you."  
  
His resolve strengthened. Forever; that's what he was doing this for.

* * *

 Robin resisted the urge to grimace on making his way through Vlad's bedroom door. The flickering of dozens of candles seemed sinister somehow, gone from just being a way to illuminate the castle's dingy interior to an obstacle to be overcome. It didn't help that Vlad dropped everything he was doing instantly, beaming wide enough to split his face at the sight of him.  
  
He sat down tentatively next to Vlad, knowing inside that tonight would be the night. Tonight, after weeks of putting it off, Vlad was going to kiss him. And he was going to have to pretend to like it.  
  
His diary had pages and pages devoted to trying to puzzle the problem out. He had to convince Vlad that he wanted to be with him, wanted to spend forever in his embrace. Yet the thought of touching Vlad, of Vlad touching him made him feel sick.  
  
Vlad seemed to sense his reticence. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to," he said solemnly. "I understand if it's too soon." His blue eyes were earnest, the hand on his arm full of reassurance. Robin felt like slime.  
  
He supposed he was lucky that Vlad was as morally conservative as every other vampire he had ever encountered wasn't. He could have to do a lot worse than kiss Vlad to persuade him. With that in mind he laid his own hand on Vlad's arm, trailing his fingers up the thin material of Vlad's shirt in the same way he had with the girls he'd been with.  
  
If he was going to do this, it was going to be on his terms.  
  
Vlad's eyelids fluttered shut as he shifted closer and Robin followed suit. In the enforced darkness Vlad could be anyone – Delila from school, the fiery red-head he'd had sellotaped to the inside of his locker at college, even Ingrid.  
  
When he pressed their lips together Vlad yielded to him, letting him lead. He cupped Vlad's cheek with one hand, the skin still smooth enough to be that of a girl's, Vlad's impaired aging process making it difficult for him to look anything other than fresh-faced and youthful.  
  
He deepened the kiss, curling his fingers into Vlad's hair, nipping at Vlad's lower lip before sucking wetly at his tongue. Vlad's fingers were clenched in the back of his sweater, trying to pull him closer. "Robin," he gasped when they parted for him to breathe and Robin felt his stomach roil.  
  
Vlad's eyes were dark, the pupils dilated with want. There was even a faint hint of colour in his cheeks that had Robin looking away. He'd done that, he thought helplessly. He had just had his tongue in Vlad's mouth. Vlad leaned in to him again but Robin shifted, pretending he hadn't noticed and reached for the television remote.  
  
He then pretended not to notice the hurt look on Vlad's face, or the meaning behind the way Vlad curled up to him, head resting against his chest.  
  
It would all be worth it.

* * *

 They had been conducting their weird affair for weeks when it really occurred to him what he was doing. The way he was toying with Vlad's emotions, taunting and taunting but never giving him quite what he wanted.  
  
It was the twins' birthday and, though they were far too old for it, his parents' had hired out Stokely Community Hall to celebrate the occasion. The place was full of the twins' friends, lots of minor club rugby players and pretty girls who dreamed of major league WAG status. Vlad sat next to him, too close in spite of his plea that nobody was to realise there was anything between them, giving him the same lovesick smile he had been bestowing on him since they had been fourteen.  
  
He ignored Vlad in favour of the blonde girl who had glanced in his direction. He raked his gaze up her figure and met her eye, smiling. She gave him the once over and smiled back, obviously approving of what she saw.  
  
Vlad watched the exchange silently, glaring daggers at her and clasping Robin's hand under the table.  
  
"Vlad!" He exclaimed in horror, snatching his hand away, looking around him in panic. "What if someone sees!? What's wrong with you!?"  
  
"I don't care who sees," Vlad told him, eyes flashing dangerously before he regained control of his temper, albeit with obvious effort. "I really don't," he said softly, "I love you and I wish everyone knew about it."  
  
One of Ian's rugby player friends, stood behind them with a plate of food, frowned at them and Robin hissed, "Vlad, people can hear you!" He pushed away from the table and made for the door, confident Vlad would follow.  
  
Outside he turned on Vlad, jabbing a finger into his chest. "What is your problem? I told you, I don't want anyone to know!"  
  
Instead of getting angry, hurting him back, Vlad went quiet, looking away although Robin swore he could see the glimmer of tears in his eyes in the moonlight. "I'm sorry. I just-" Vlad was looking down at his hands now, wringing them together, "Sometimes it seems like you don't want to be with me. Like the thought of being near me disgusts you."  
  
The anger drained away. He should do it now, he thought. Put an end to it. Tell Vlad he had tried but that it could never work between them. But… He'd had to put in so much work already. He couldn't give up now and get nothing. He stood still for a long moment, deliberating.  
  
Finally, decisively, he took a step forward, reaching out an arm and pulling Vlad to his chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt like that." He grimaced, knowing Vlad couldn't see, "I just – I don't want you to have to face any more prejudice." He tried to pitch his tone better, "You've got enough to deal with."  
  
Vlad pulled back slightly, tilting his head up to look into his face. "Really?"  
  
"Yeah," he lied. He was getting better at it every day.  
  
"Robin," Vlad said softly, smiling at him, "You don't need to worry about me, honest. Anything anyone says to me," he shrugged lightly, "it'd be worth it." Vlad pressed back into him, speaking into his chest, "I love you so much."  
  
Robin let one hand card through Vlad's hair and stared out into the middle distance. "I know, Vlad. I know you do."

* * *

 "So how long have you been together?" Mrs. Branagh asked, smiling happily at him, the second Vlad went home. He had finally given in and agreed they should visit his family and make things 'official'. Let everyone know. "Oh, Robin, I'm so happy for you!"  
  
Robin concentrated on keeping his expression positive, telling himself over and over again that this meant he was one step closer to reaching his goal. It was so close he could almost reach out and touch it.  
  
"Lovely boy, Vlad," Mr. Branagh said approvingly. Vlad's hypnosis thing had really done the business on him. "He's got a sensible head on his shoulders," he fixed Robin with a pointed look, "Exactly what you need."  
  
"I just can't believe anyone would touch you," Paul said, shaking his head in bemusement.  
  
Ian nodded solemnly.  
  
Chloe trained her all-knowing gaze on him and he squirmed uncomfortably. "Do you love him?" She asked bluntly, watching his reaction carefully.  
  
"Yes," he said testily, though he couldn't meet her eye, fixated instead on the plate of cake his mother had pressed upon him. Chloe was weird about Vlad, he knew. If Vlad wasn't so sickeningly obsessed with him she would probably have tried her luck long ago.  
  
"He doesn't deserve to be used," she said, tone laced with unspoken threat. Robin met her gaze then, afraid she might know. But there was no significant look, nothing to suggest she did. Just a general warning that he shouldn't hurt Vlad's feelings.  
  
He pushed his plate away, appetite suddenly gone. It was far too late for that.

* * *

In a way it made things easier, everyone knowing. Somehow it wasn't so difficult to take Vlad's hand as they sat together on his parents' sofa, his Mam burbling away about this and that, or to press a kiss to his chilled cheek in the darkness of Stokely cinema. It felt like it was just an act, and he'd learnt all his lines well ahead of time.  
  
Vlad noticed the change – as if he could not have, the amount of time Vlad dedicated to studying him – and reacted accordingly. Lapped up any and all attention Robin was prepared to bestow on him.  
  
The only difficulties came when they were alone, when there was no audience to perform to. Vlad, as patient and considerate as he endlessly strove to be, was only human. Vampire. Whatever. The point was that Vlad wanted more from him than hand holding and hesitant kisses, and he didn't know if he could go through with it.  
  
Everything reached crisis point when he woke up groggily to see Vlad clambering over his bedroom window ledge, still wearing his Council robes.  
  
"Vlad," he hissed, glancing at his clock, "what are you doing here? It's 2am."  
  
"I know," Vlad beamed at him, pulling the curtains shut and dropping down onto the edge of his bed, "I called an early finish." In answer to his unspoken 'why' Vlad reached out a hand to push his fringe away from his forehead, "We've been together six months tonight."  
  
Robin stared at him in shock, thinking back and realising it really had been that long. Vlad was oblivious,  
  
"I wanted to be with you."  
  
Misreading Robin's continued gaping, he went on, "Don't worry; I won't make you watch any more Twilight. Promise." He took hold of Robin's hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing his knuckles like something out of the Disney films Chloe had loved when she was very young.  
  
Robin swallowed harshly at the thought of his sister. His flatmates were away; gone camping for the weekend to some godforsaken place in West Wales he could barely pronounce. It meant he'd have no excuse.  
  
Vlad who, as ever, had been watching him closely, spoke in soft, reassuring tones, "I didn't mean like that." He wrapped both hands around Robin's, "I just want to be near you. I told you, I'll wait until you're ready."  
  
He nodded, feeling both relieved and terrified. The look Vlad was giving him was even gooier than usual; he hoped he didn't do that sort of thing at Council. Vlad got up and fumbled with his cape and robes, dropping them haphazardly to the floor, so he was just wearing his shirt and jeans. "You can borrow some pyjamas," Robin told him, glad he'd remembered to wear some. The last thing he wanted was Vlad in his bed half naked.  
  
Too soon Vlad was crawling into bed beside him, the two of them pressed close thanks to its narrowness. The heat of the blankets quickly infused Vlad's skin and Robin couldn't help but think about the girls he'd had in his bed. It was the body heat, he decided. Vlad was usually freezing so he just didn't think to make the comparison.  
  
Once the thought was in his head, he couldn't get it back out. Couldn't stop thinking about the fact that if Vlad were to shift, just slightly, his leg would be pressed against him. It had been too long since he'd had anything but his own hand, afraid Vlad would be able to tell and the whole plan would be ruined before he got immortality and the coolest set of gnashers anybody could hope for.  
  
Vlad looked up at him intently, his features softer in the dim light. Robin stared back, breathing laboured at the way Vlad's eyes seemed to be boring right through him. Then Vlad reached out and trailed fingers across the exposed skin of his throat for the very first time. Robin squirmed, it was his weak spot. It was no wonder he had a thing for vampires, he thought distractedly, letting his eyes fall shut.  
  
And, then, there was movement and Vlad's lips were against his pulse point, kissing softly before sucking harshly. Robin shivered all over at the sensation, clenching one hand in Vlad's hair to keep his head in place. Oh, but Vlad was an expert at it. The scrape of teeth – fang! – and the gentle nuzzling threatening to send his mind into meltdown.  
  
He couldn't keep still under Vlad, desperate for more. Before he could make sense of what was happening Vlad was laid out against him, hips rocking. "Vlad," he whined, clutching at the other boy until they were aligned, and he was thrusting up to meet him, eyes shut as Vlad continued the assault on his neck.  
  
By the time he had processed what was happening he found he didn't care. Didn't care who was bringing him off, so long as they did a good job of it. He reached for Vlad's hand, pushing it between them roughly and pressing it against himself, the sensation making him groan even through layers of clothing.  
  
Vlad made a weird keening sound then, gasping against his throat and thrusting harder against his thigh. Then he was kissing him, all slick tongue and vicious nips to his lower lip, nothing like the careful, tender kisses he normally gave. Vlad wriggled his wrist free of Robin's grip and used that hand to pull at his pyjama bottoms, to wrap around his cock.  
  
"So hot," Vlad was panting in between kissing, "Want you so badly." He moved his hand, "Wanted you for so long."  
  
He couldn't help the noises he was making by this point. It had been too long, he was too desperate. And, then, Vlad was pushing away, hand gone. He tried to protest but he had barely managed to get his eyes open before Vlad's mouth was on him again, tongue pressing against the underside of his cock in a way that was threatening to make him see stars.  
  
Vlad's technique was sloppy and inexperienced but it didn't seem to matter all that much. His enthusiasm was such a turn-on that Robin couldn't stop from thrusting his hips up, prompting Vlad to press one hand firmly against his hip bone. His other hand, he knew from the way he could feel Vlad's arm rhythmically bumping against him, was otherwise occupied.  
  
Vlad groaned around him and it was his undoing, his entire body going rigid as he came, fingers curling painfully tight in Vlad's hair. Vlad kept at it until he was shuddering wildly, bones feeling like jelly under the onslaught. The movement of Vlad's arm finally stopped and Vlad laid his cheek against his thigh, gasping.  
  
Eventually Vlad dragged himself back up the bed, leaning in to kiss him but Robin turned his head away. He knew where Vlad's mouth had been. Vlad settled for dropping a clumsy kiss to his cheek. "Was it okay?" He whispered, cool air fanning across his still flushed cheeks as he did so.  
  
That was when it hit him. Crashing down on him like a ton of bricks. He had just made out with Vlad. Vlad had just sucked him off. He felt ill, a horrible mixture of distaste and guilt and fear settling on his chest. Vlad was still looking at him, expression nervous, and he forced himself to nod.  
  
"Should be able to tell for yourself," he croaked out.  
  
Vlad smiled. "I've wanted to do that for so long." Robin pulled his pyjamas back into order as Vlad settled closer to him, laying his head on his chest, hand reaching to curl in his own. "I do love you," Vlad mumbled quietly, obviously on the verge of sleep, "You make me so happy."  
  
Robin just stared blankly up at the ceiling, refusing to acknowledge the tears that welled and welled and streaked down his pale cheeks in the darkness.

* * *

It was then that he made a resolution. This could not go on indefinitely, there had to be a cut off point. So, once dusk had finally fallen and Vlad disappeared to go and sign his name to his constitutional amendments, Robin sat with his diary across his lap and made a timetable. He had been at it six months; he was going to be finished within the year.  
  
The details were still sketchy and he avoided Vlad for over a week, using work as an excuse. He was still trying to figure out what to do next when his mother broached the subject for him, expression concerned and eyes sad.  
  
"Has something happened between you and Vlad?" She asked, tone soft and careful, as if he really might be distraught at the prospect. He realised with a start that before he'd started this, he would have been upset if Vlad wasn't speaking to him.  
  
Aloud he said, "No. What makes you think that?"  
  
Mrs. Branagh sat down next to him, putting a motherly hand on his arm. "I hate to see you so miserable, Robin." Robin kept his gaze on the magazine in his hands. She sighed, "I know that it's difficult, being in a relationship. But you have to keep working at it. Prove that you want to make it work." She paused, "If that is what you want."  
  
He smiled at her, the way forward suddenly clear. "Yeah, yeah of course it is."

* * *

Vlad answered the door to him, hair sticking up from squirming in his coffin. When he saw who it was his face broke out in a smile, so blatantly happy to see him that Robin had to look away.  
  
They went to Vlad's bedroom and sat on his bed. Robin glanced around the room awkwardly, gaze lingering on Mr. Cuddles' misshapen form, just visible over the lip of Vlad's coffin. Sometimes he wished Vlad could just act like a real vampire; he wouldn't feel bad about tricking a master of cunning.  
  
"I was starting to worry you'd gone off me," Vlad said, trying to keep his tone light although Robin could hear the anxious undertones.  
  
"I've just been," he hesitated, searching for the right word, then giving it up as a bad cause and starting again. "I didn't know if I could face you."  
  
Vlad's expression fell so fast it might have been comical were he in a better frame of mind.  
  
"W-why? What's wrong?"  
  
Robin bit at his lip and told himself he could go through with it. He took Vlad's hand in his own, and glanced up at him, "Last week," he couldn't go into any more detail on it, "I felt so close to you, Vlad, like," he cringed inwardly as he said it, "my being with you was meant to be."  
  
Vlad was looking up at him in awed anticipation and he fought back the wave of guilt and self-disgust. "I," he swallowed, "I think I love you." Vlad's eyes were shining, like all his Christmases and birthdays and a peaceful resolution to the civil war had come at once, wrapped up with a pretty bow.  
  
"But," he went on hastily, before Vlad could speak, "it can never work, Vlad. Can't you see? You're always going to be young and," he winced but said it anyway, "beautiful," he touched a hand to Vlad's cheek, uncertain if he liked the way Vlad leaned into the touch or not, "and I'm," he looked down at himself. "Not."  
  
"Robin," Vlad's tone was small and scared, "What are you saying? You want us to break up?"  
  
"I don't want to, Vlad," he tried to sound more upset, "But it's better now than in ten years or something, when I love you so much I won't be able to stand it." He'd lifted that line straight from a copy of some Mills and Boon story his Mam had left lying around. It had the desired effect.  
  
"I don't just love you for the way you look," Vlad protested, looking like he might cry. "I'm not going to leave you."  
  
"You can't know that, Vlad," he insisted, "You'll just resent being stuck with me."  
  
Vlad  _was_  crying now, swiping harshly at his eyes, obviously embarrassed. "I won't! How can I prove it to you?"  
  
Robin looked away, wanting to smile at how well it was going. Taking a calming breath he tried to fix his features into abject misery. "I don't know, Vlad," he shook his head. He had to pitch this carefully, make it seem like it was Vlad's idea. "I just wish I could be with you forever."  
  
He glanced slyly up at Vlad, waiting for his reaction. "Do you really mean that?" Vlad asked, hands reaching out to frame his face.  
  
Robin met his gaze, thinking about how badly he wanted to be a vampire. He would never be sat there, telling Vlad he loved him if he wasn't desperate. Whatever Vlad saw in his eyes seemed to satisfy him and he started speaking again, voice little more than a whisper,  
  
"I – one day – if it was what you really wanted – I could –"  
  
This time he couldn't keep the grin from his face and, panicked, he kissed Vlad to hide it, curling his fingers in the hair at Vlad's nape, plundering his mouth so he'd be too distracted to even consider the possibility there might be something amiss. When he pulled back to breathe he moved his lips to Vlad's ear, watching darkly as Vlad squirmed at the sensation of hot air.  
  
"I love you, Vlad," he repeated, the words coming easier now they had a precedent, "And I don't ever want to be separated from you."

* * *

Now that the idea was out in the open he struggled to keep his impatience at bay. Why wouldn't Vlad just get on with it? What was he waiting for?  
  
At first he tried to be nicer to Vlad, to hold his hand when they were alone and whisper sweet nothings in his ear. It made no difference. He then tried to be stand-offish and accusatory, implying that Vlad was just using him. That just resulted in yet more tears and unfulfilled promises.  
  
Eventually, with the year almost up, he decided to hit Vlad where it would really hurt. Sappy and sentimental, Vlad might be. But he had seen the way Vlad had lost control in the heat of the moment, the way he had gone back on his promises of waiting at the first sign he might be willing.  
  
To his surprise he didn't feel the usual overwhelming surge of guilt as he lit candles in his bedroom, Vlad due any minute. He had more than earned this. He blew out the match and glanced at the clock, reaching for the fruit knife he had taken from the kitchen. Grimacing in anticipated pain he held it to his finger and then pressed deeper, blood welling up brightly against his pale skin.  
  
He reached for his neck, smearing it along the curve of his throat, letting the blood pool at his pulse point. When Vlad rapped on his bedroom door he was sucking at his finger, put out at the 'accidental' cut. Vlad's eyes went dark instantly, pupils blown at the scent of his blood.  
  
"Vlad," he whispered, trying to make it sound as if he really wanted him. He pushed into Vlad's personal space, determination overriding revulsion. He let his hand fall to Vlad's hip, gaze flickering from Vlad's eye to his lips with calculated desire. He lingered for a moment, letting his breath caress Vlad's chilled skin, knowing the effect it would have.  
  
Groaning Vlad pressed forward, crashing their lips together. Vlad's hands went to his sides, pushing up the fabric of his T-shirt and Robin gasped at their coldness as Vlad trailed icy fingers across exposed skin. Then it was being pulled up and over his head, Vlad's eyes slightly wild as he dropped his head to sniff deeply at the blood.  
  
He pulled Vlad closer, walking them back towards the bed and collapsing on to it, Vlad crawling on top of him, nose still buried in the crook of his neck. "You smell so – it's like it's –" Vlad's words were disjointed, his voice thick with lust and Robin grinned in triumph out of Vlad's line of sight.  
  
Pushing one hand up under the material of Vlad's shirt, he twisted the other in Vlad's hair, encouraging. Vlad's own hands were running across his chest, thumbs rasping over his nipples before moving to fumble with his belt buckle. He had let Vlad do this, more than once, taking advantage of the fact that Vlad never seemed to expect him to reciprocate in any way. It wouldn't be enough today, he knew, and clenching his eyes tight shut slid his palms down Vlad's sides, pressing one hand against Vlad – just long enough to make his intention clear, and for Vlad to all but collapse onto him, gasping and groaning into his collarbone – before making short work of buttons and zipper.  
  
Vlad redoubled his own efforts, pushing tight denim down his legs, stripping off his own shirt and helping Robin with the rest until they were both void of clothing. He wrapped a tentative hand around Vlad, telling himself that it was no different to doing it to himself, and used his other hand to force Vlad's mouth back to his neck. Vlad thrust desperately into his grip, clamping helplessly onto his throat, the rasp of his tongue alternating with harsh sucking.  
  
Robin arched up against him, eyes rolling back in his head at the sensation of Vlad's hand on him and the blissful pain as he raised welts on his skin. His reaction only served to stoke Vlad's ardour, his movements increasingly wild and uncoordinated.  
  
"Please, Vlad," he gasped out, "I want you to bite me," he clenched his fingers tighter in Vlad's hair, " _Please_."  
  
For an instant he thought it wasn't going to happen, that it had all been for nothing, and then – then there was a jolt of pleasure-pain unlike anything he'd ever felt. He couldn't keep quiet, couldn't keep still, thrashing under Vlad's touch, the movement working Vlad's fangs deeper into his flesh. And then came the sucking, and he moved both hands to wrap his arms around Vlad's back, keening helplessly at the sensation. Vlad kept moving his hand, even as he sucked forcefully at his neck, and he couldn't hold back, shaking and shuddering as he came all over Vlad's hand, the feeling stretching on and on and on.  
  
When he thought he could take no more, would simply die from the overload of sensation, Vlad finally let go, soothing his tongue across the marks he'd made in an oddly tender gesture. "Vlad?" He croaked, his hair was damp and clinging to his forehead, his thigh wet where Vlad been powerless to stop himself.  
  
Vlad lifted himself up on shaky arms, staring into his face, expression half terrified. Robin slid one hand back into his hair, raking his fingers through it softly and smiled. "Thank you." He pressed a soft kiss to Vlad's blood stained lips, "Thank you."

* * *

When he woke he felt strange, cold and short of breath. He pressed a hand to his chest and a grin curled across his face in sudden realisation. It had happened. It had really happened.

He was a vampire!  
  
He shifted and frowned, surprised at the sting of rejection he felt at realising he was on his own. Vlad had said that he was going to love him forever. It proved how fickle he was, Robin thought bitterly, if he had already given up on him. He rolled over and was forced to swallow his words. Vlad was sat in the chair opposite him, silent and unmoving. His stomach dropped at the sight of the book in Vlad's hands. His diary.  
  
"Vlad?" He started cautiously, praying that he hadn't read much of it, that he didn't know.  
  
"So it was all a lie," Vlad said, tone hollow and emotionless. It scared him more than any display of temper could have. "You never loved me."  
  
"I-" he said hurriedly, "I can explain." He didn't know why the words were tumbling out of his mouth. There was nothing to explain. He had manipulated his best friend in the worst possible way.  
  
Vlad shook his head; face crumpling as he looked down at the pages in front of him. He moved it from his lap to the floor with stiff, awkward movements, and stood up. Robin watched helplessly as Vlad paused at his bedroom door, the orange glow of streetlights through his curtains telling him that the sun was not yet up and Vlad was free to go wherever he chose.  
  
"I," Vlad fixed him with a look that sent chills through him, his eyes blank and soulless, "loved you so much." And, with that said, he disappeared.

* * *

That was the last time he ever saw Vlad. He saw the Grand High Vampire glowering out at him from Vampirism Today, he even saw His Grandness, Vladimir, once at an official function in deepest Trans-Siberia, but Vlad was gone. The place inside that had sustained him broken beyond repair, leaving nothing but a shadow in its wake.  
  
Of course Vlad had been right, he reflected over and over again, about being a vampire. It lost its novelty faster than he could ever have imagined. He watched as his family grew old and died. He watched as the world changed around him, shifting and merging without ever once including him. Everything changed and he stayed the same. Trapped forever in the darkness; always alone.  
  
He had gotten what he'd always wanted.  
  
And he'd give anything to hand it back again.

**Author's Note:**

> As ever, feel free to chat / hit me with prompts over on Tumblr [@serenwib](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/) or Twitter [@falsteloj](https://twitter.com/falsteloj). :)


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